David Pocock (ACT, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, as you'd know, we have several Canberrans who are very passionate about the role of pets in aged care. There are a lot of studies that show having a pet in aged care can improve mental health and physical health. There's an interesting stat, according to Seniors Australia, that a quarter of seniors spend more on their pet than on their grandkids, so you clearly can't put a price on our best friends. But we know that there are a lot of barriers to keeping their pets when they age. It gets harder to walk them. As finances dwindle for senior Australians, it can be harder to provide for them. Of course, not all facilities accept them.

It was very welcome to see in the statement of rights that senior Australians now have a right to remain connected to their pets in the aged-care system. We of course recognise that these rights are not absolute and need to be balanced with the rights of others. Concerns have been raised with me that, despite these new rights and despite this being on the actual statement of rights, there are actually no supports provided through the services list to help people maintain connection with their pets. On behalf of the people who've raised these concerns, I was hoping you could help us understand why there aren't any services covered on the list to help people stay connected with their pets, which is actually a right in your legislation.